A 50-meter-long sailboat with 22 people on board sinks off the coast of Palermo. Fifteen people were rescued, one citizen drowned and six more remain missing.
At least one dead and six missing after the shipwreck of a boat in Palermo. Due to bad weather, a 50-meter-long sailboat with 22 people on board sank around 05:00 local time in the stretch of sea located in front of Porticello, in the province of Palermo.
Fifteen citizens were rescued on site by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters. After some time, the rescue workers They found the body of a manwho was among the seven missing after the shipwreck.
The fire department divers have submerged to reach the hull of the boat, which remains sunk 49 meters deep in an area located just under a kilometer from the coast.
On board the British-flagged sailboat, there were mostly citizens of the United Kingdom, as well as a New Zealander, a Canadian, a Sri Lankan citizen, two people with French and English nationality and an Irishman. The divers of the fire department and the officers of the Harbor Master’s Office They rescued a child just one year old who was transferred to the Palermo Children’s Hospital. Meanwhile, he continues the search for the missing.
Sailboat wreck in Sicily: search underway
Divers are searching off the coast of Porticello for the six missing people who were aboard the British sailboat Bayesian that sank this morning. Several helicopters, as well as an aircraft from the Catania Fire Service They fly over the accident area which caused the boat to sink.
In the next few hours, statements will be taken from the fifteen survivors, including the captain of the boat, who managed to save himself. It is likely that the six people who remain missing They will meet in the cabins, at the time of the shipwreckand they will be trapped inside. The sailboat, which was in the port of Porticello, set sail at night and sailed for a few minutes before sinking.
The sailboat was still in the roadstead before sinking
According to witnesses, the boat remained anchored a short distance from the port of Porticello when a tornado occurred in the area. Apparently, on its way back to port, the strong wind would have broken the large mast of the sailboat. This would have caused the boat to become unbalanced, and led to its subsequent shipwreck.
At the time of the accident there was another sailboat in the roadstead that tried to help the shipwrecked Bayesian. “The boat It was completely illuminated,” says a citizen of Porticello. “However, around 4:30 there was no longer any light. It was a beautiful sailboat on which a party had been held. So, a festive and joyful day at sea It became a tragedy. The boat was not far from the port. It didn’t take long for the crew to raise anchor and head to the port. “Evidently, they were surprised by the gale, which arose suddenly, and the shipwreck could not be avoided.”
The Bayesian was a luxury sailing ship flying the United Kingdom flag.
The Bayesian, a ship that sank off Porticello, in the Sicilian province of Palermo, had the flag of the United Kingdom. It was an elegant sailboat about 56 meters in length, built by the Perini Navi shipyard in Viareggio in February 2008, renovated in 2020, and designed for luxury travel.
According to VesselFinder, a ship tracking website, the sailboat He arrived in Porticello after a stopover in Milazzo and a passage in front of Cefalú. The deck area of the vessel is 436 square meters and its six cabins They occupy an area of 143 square meters.
On board, the builder notes, the owner and 11 guests can stay, as well as 10 crew members. The Bayesian is built with an aluminum hull and superstructure, and teak decks. Powered by two MTU 8-cylinder 965 horsepower diesel engines, she normally cruises at 12 knots and reaches a maximum speed of 15 knots. The boat had one of the tallest masts in the world and the largest is made of aluminum, with a height of 75 meters.
